Do the math: 567 boxes + one 40-foot shipping container holding 35,000 pounds of books = 50,000 Ugandan school children in 150 rural schools given the opportunity to not only learn to read, but also develop a lifelong love of reading and learning.

This summer, thanks to our supporters, we were able to do just that. Through our partnership with Books for Africa and Bega kwa Bega (BkB) (Shoulder to Shoulder) for Uganda Orphans, these 50,000 children will have access to more than 20,000 books, including picture and story books for the youngest, and science, math, social studies, health and art textbooks for the older students.

“Most children find it difficult to learn and master reading skills in English due to a lack of books,” says BKB Founder and Director Conche McGarr, who added that the storybooks with colorful pictures will attract young readers “to develop an interest in reading at an early age.”

Conche also noted that the books will benefit the teachers as well who will be coached on how to use the books to the help their students improve their literacy in a country where half the adult population is illiterate.

“Our schools rarely get such an opportunity,” she told us. “Therefore, this donation will be unforgettable in the lives of the beneficiaries and who will be forever grateful for this kindness.”

Bread and Water for Africa® has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Neilom Engineering for Social Change Fund to build a water well in Sierra Leone.

The grant is being made available through the Neilom Foundation and the Center for Engineering Concepts Development in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in partnership with the Center for Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland College Park.

“Our name reflects our highest priority to bring clean water to families, clinics, schools and entire communities,” stated Bread and Water for Africa® Executive Director Bethelhem Tessema, who noted that Bread and Water for Africa®, through partnerships with grassroots organizations in Africa, has provided water wells for tens of thousands of people in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia and Sierra Leone.

The $10,000 grant funding will go towards building a hand pump water well to serve the Hill Station Primary and Secondary Schools as well as the surrounding community in Freetown, Sierra Leone. We will commit matching funds of $5,092 to fully meet to the total project costs of $15,092.

In 2015, we established a goal of building three wells in Sierra Leone, a country still recovering from the Ebola outbreak of 2014, by June 2016. The first of the three wells, in the community of Waterloo, is soon to be completed.

Bread and Water for Africa® has established a goal of building a total of three wells in Sierra Leone, still recovering from the Ebola outbreak of 2014 which continued into 2015, for FY 2016. The first well, in the community of Waterloo, is soon to be completed.

The Neilom Grant money, combined with the matching funds contributed by Bread and Water for Africa®, will make it possible to complete the second well early in 2016.

We will administer the grant with its partner, Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO), of Freetown , Sierra Leone, which have worked as partners for more than 10 years. Weather permitting, the construction of the new well could begin as soon as January and be completed by the end of March.

The need for such a well in Sierra Leone is great. The vast majority of the population does not have access to safe and clean water and nearly half of the population uses unprotected water as their primary source for drinking, bathing and washing.

We are extremely grateful to the Neilom Engineering for Social Change Fund for recognizing the need for a well in this community that will benefit thousands and literally save lives.

On behalf of these thousands, we say “Tenki” (“Thank You” in Krio, the national language of Sierra Leone).

Tragically, thousands of children die every year from water-borne illnesses that are easily preventable. Where there is unsafe water, there are diseases. In the rural communities of Africa, the need for clean water is extremely urgent and a top priority for Bread and Water for Africa®. Clean water. It should be simple, really. And you know this. Or do you? Take our quiz to find out.

Water is life! We support programs that provide access to clean water and educate Africans about the vital importance of clean water for the prevention of diseases.

Bread and Water for Africa® supports the following programs for clean water development:

Here’s what our reviewers had to say:

“I have had a standing order with Bread and Water for Africa® for a couple of years now and follow their work closely. The more I learn about the excellent work they are doing the more I am convinced my money is being extremely well spent and I am proud to let people know that I have some involvement in such an exceptional charity.” Richard P, donor – Oct. 5, 2012

“I have watched this charity from a distance for quite some time. It does enormously important, wonderful work in areas of Africa that need all the help they can get. Those involved are talented and committed.” Steve M., general member of the public – Sept. 28, 2012

“The unique quality of this nongovernmental organization is that it has identified successful, local, community-based African charities in Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, to name a few, and then partners with them to work together in the areas of health care, education, organic farming, orphan care, and most importantly, water harvesting. Also, it is led by an amazing and tireless woman in Kenya, a nurse, mother to hundreds of orphans no longer, and a true visionary.” Works with Children, advisor – April 16, 2012

Bread and Water for Africa® is committed to promoting positive change in Africa through grassroots initiatives as they move towards self-sufficiency. Our partners are affecting change in health, nutrition, education, and orphan care, creating a brighter future for Africa through the care of its children and the vulnerable. Look through our Annual Report and learn about the impact that these partners are having on the lives of orphaned children, families, and communities throughout Africa and learn about the stories of Waita and Meseret.

Waita is now 21 years old with an education. But her parents died when she and her siblings were children. They were hard-pressed to survive as orphans on their own. However, the Kabwata orphanage took them in where they gained a bed, food, water, people who cared about her and a brighter future.

Meseret wanted to be trained in computer science but could not afford the fees to do so after completing secondary school. Yeteem Children and Destitute Mothers Fund offered free computer-training courses though, and Meseret learned the skills she needed to pursue a career. This created a brighter future for her and her family. Now Meseret works as an assistant at Yeteem gaining experience in teaching and helping others realize their own dreams.

This past weekend, Phyllis was awarded the Jury Chairman’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence by the East Africa Association of Grantmakers (EAAG) during the 2012 East Africa Philanthropy Awards in Entebbe Uganda!